Han language
– 1,000,000+ | familycolor = Austronesian | fam1 = | fam2 = | fam3 = | fam4 = | fam5 = Hannic languages | sign = Signed Han | script = (main) (main) | nation = Great Han Empire | region = Han archipelago | minority = | iso1 = hn | iso2 = | minority = Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Brunei | iso3 = | lingua = | map = | mapcaption = | agency = }} The Han language ( : 서사리타하니; 的字哈尼, Sousaritahan), is the of Hani, with nearly all of its population having the ability to speak it fluently. The official global regulatory body of the Han language is the , which governs the proper usage of the Han language. Han is a member of the Hannic languages, as well as the and the . In the 17th century, , which itself is descended from , branched into two languages; , and the Classical Han, which is distinguished by the adoption of Chinese loanwords (for complex concepts) and shedding of archaic diphthongs (e.g., aw, ay, uj, iw). Shortly after, Classical Han further branched into three groups; proto–Solwoun–Gayan, proto–Shinan, and proto–Hanyang. The first group would be known for the further mass-adoption of Chinese lexicon, the second would preserve the use of repetition and older affixes, whilst the last group would have simplified affixes, and would lack , , and present in Classical Han. The last group is known as the direct ancestor of the Han language. Characteristics of Han include morphology with to change or create new vocabulary, a flexible utilising both and word order, a relatively small phonemic inventory, and a noticeable lack of consonant clusters (e.g., str in English). Another special feature is the , a system that is used only by it and other . As with other countries part of the , a sizeable amount of its vocabulary is adopted from the and its dialects such as and . The Han language is written in Hanji, a , and , a logographic script. However, unlike being written sequentially like the letters of the Latin alphabet, Hanji letters are grouped into blocks that are transcribed as syllables. These blocks are then arranged horizontally from left to right or vertically from top to bottom. Phonology Vowels Vowel length (the long length, /ː/) is indicated by one special symbol, ー. Consonants Grammar There are eight basic parts of speech: verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions and particles; same as in the . Han is a partly language, with pronouns being inflected for number, verbs being inflected for focus, aspect, and voice, and both being inflected to denote familiarity between audience and speaker, and to distinguish informal and formal situations. Sentences typically follow a order, though the order is quite flexible as and orders are also used, albeit only in informal situations. Verbs Han verbs are morphologically complex; being conjugated by taking on a variety of affixes that reflect , , , and other qualities. Prior to being conjugated, verbs denoting an action, for example, shipposeyo ("to want"), the –seyo suffix is removed. Below is a chart of the main verbal , which are mostly , with a few being . Aspect The of a verb shows its progressiveness; specifying whether the action had happened, is happening, or is due to happen. In Han, verbs are conjugated for time using aspect rather than tense. There are four aspects. The complete aspect shows that the action had been completed. The progressive aspect shows that the action has been initiated but not been completed or the action is habitual or a universal fact. The contemplative aspect shows the action has not happened, but is anticipated. The least common aspect is known as the complete aspect, showing that the action has been only just completed prior to the time of speaking or a specified time. Trigger An important feature of verbs in Han and other Philippine languages (which is alleged to be its parent language family, as it is the sole other languages who have the system) is the trigger system, often referred to as the voice or the focus. In the system, the thematic role (agent, patient, or oblique) of the noun (marked by the direct-case particle) is encoded in the verb. In its default (no modifications to the verb) form, it triggers a reading of the direct noun as the patient of the clause. In its second most common form, it triggers the noun as the agent of the clause instead. Other triggers are , , , , , and lastly, the . There are three main patient-trigger affixes. The –''in'' is used for three things; objects that are moved towards the actor (e.g., gain-in, to eat something), objects whose changes are irreversible (e.g., wang-in, to kill something), and lastly, things that are thought of (e.g., iship-in, to think of something). The –''ō'' is used for objects which is undergoing a change of state. While the an– is used for items undergoing a surface change. Nouns and adjectives could use these affixes in the same as verbs could. Also, verbs with affixes may also be used as nouns. Historically, they were differentiated by stress position, but today, there is no such way to differentiate between them. The main agent-trigger affixes are -''um''-, -''ma'', -''nam'', and -''man''. The -''ma'' is used with only a few roots which are semantically intransitive. -''ma'' is not to be confused with -''man'', the potentiative prefix for patient-triggered verb forms. The difference between ma- and -''um''- is a source of confusion among learners of the language, though there are two main distinct differences among many; the former refers to externally directed actions (e.g., to buy) while the latter refers to internally directed actions (e.g., to sell). There are exceptions however, but in general most verbs are conjugated this way. Nouns Han are not , but are however, preceded by case-making particles. These follow the – the presence of this has made many linguists place it within the as it is only found within it. There are three basic cases; (or , often inaccurately labeled ); (which may function as an , , or ); and . The direct case is used for clauses. In clauses utilising the default grammatical voice of the Han language, the direct marks the ( ) and the indirect marks the , corresponding to the role of the in the English language. However, when utilising a more marked voice, the situation becomes the opposite as the direct marks the agent and the indirect marks the patient. Han has been analysed as an language. However, in ergative languages where one of the voices forms an intransitive clause, in Han both voices are transitive, and so align well with neither nominative–accusative languages such as English nor with other ergative languages. The main ergative marker is the sō– (pronounced as sə not so). Meanwhile, the word mana (pronounced ma-na) is placed before a noun to indicate . Cases Common noun affixes Pronouns Like , personal are categorised by . Indirect forms of pronouns may also function as the . As nouns are gender-neutral, pronouns can be used to refer to both a male or a female. The second person singular has two forms; hyo is the form while ga is the which never starts a sentence. While gayo is plural, it may be used in place of the singular form to show respect. Demonstrative pronouns Polite or formal usage As in many other languages, Han marks the . When addressing a single person in polite, formal, or respectful settings, pronouns from the second or third person plural group are used in place of the singular form. They are often used with the po and ho iterations, but not doing so will not lose any degree of politeness, formality or respect. Enclitic particles The Han language utilises enclitic particles having important information that convey different nuances in meaning. Below is a list of Han enclitic particles; # na and pa ## na: now, already ## pa: still, else, in addition, yet # kaji: even, even if, even though # joha: although # ni and nani: marks personal names that are not the focus of the sentence; indicates possession. # shi and shina: marks and introduces personal names # kan: indeed; used in affirmations or emphasis. Also softens imperatives # rin: too, also # bwa: limiting particle; only or just # dawō: a reporting particle that expresses that the information in the sentence is second-hand; they say, he said, reportedly, supposedly, etc. # ho and po; shows politeness # bwa: used in yes-and-no questions and optionally in other types of questions, # mina: for now, for a minute and yet (in negative sentences). # niman: used in making contrasts; softens requests; emphasis # gase: expresses cause; because # gaya: expresses wonder; I wonder; perhaps (we should do something) (also optionally used in yes-and-no questions and other forms of questions) # lana: expresses that the speaker has realised or suddenly remembered something; realization particle # yata: expresses uncertainty; probably, perhaps, seems # dōriyō: used in cause and effect; as a result # san-a: expresses hope, unrealised condition (with verb in completed aspect), used in conditional sentences. # baka: expresses the potential of an action to occur # dwé: used to indicate duty, correctness, or obligation Word order Han has a basic with the direct noun triggering the verb appearing last (verb-indirect-direct). A change in word order and trigger generally corresponds to a change in definiteness. The word order may be inverted to a order with the use of the inversion marker nal, though a slight, but optional, pause in speech or a comma in writing may replace the inversion marker. This is often viewed as formal or literary, and is seldom used in actual speech. Negation There are three (main) negation words in Han; ōpsō, wara, and hwa. The first mentioned word is a Korean loanword (though its usage in Han is slightly different), and is used for negating verbs and equations. It can be shortened into ōsu, but this seldom occurs and is considered informal. The second word is the direct opposite of the suffix –''mayō'', and indicates the lack of an something (usually objects). The last word is used in expressing negative commands, and may be used for the infinitive and future aspect. There are two more special negative forms for common verbs, the positive shippō (which is also a Korean loanword) and the negative ayawa. Vocabulary Nouns Verbs Numbers Honorifics The Han language emphasises the importance of the speaker or writer's relationships with both the subject of the sentence and the audience. Han grammar uses an extensive system of honorifics, one similar to those found in other East Asian languages such as Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, to reflect these. With Han honorifics holding their origins during the Tondo period, when there was a rigid caste system in place, the system was originally used to express differences between social statuses. Nowadays, honorifics are used to differentiate between formal and informal speech based on the level of familiarity between the speaker and the listener. Honorific verbs All verbs and adjectives can be changed into honorific form by adding two suffixes; –''shita'' (시따) used in formal situations or when the speaker is unfamiliar with the person, and –''goya'' (고야) used in informal situations or for when the speaker is familiar with the audience. Footnotes Category:Great Han Empire